Court says CAP reform plan does not go far enough

The European Court of Auditors has warned that the European Commission’s plans to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would not achieve the stated aims of simplification and better results.

“In spite of the claim that it focuses on results, the policy remains fundamentally focused on spending and controlling expenditure, and therefore oriented more towards compliance than performance,” said an opinion from the ECA issued today (17 April).

The court said that the planned legislative framework was too complex, and the Commission’s proposal to limit payments to active farmers would not eliminate the risk of non-active landowners receiving money. The ECA said a simpler definition of what constitutes an active farmer was needed.

A member of the ECA will present the opinion to the European Parliament at the end of this month. MEPs and member states are currently debating the proposal, with an agreement planned for the beginning of 2013. The new CAP would then come into effect in 2014.

Agriculture ministers will debate the proposal next week (26 April) in Luxembourg.